From 1971 to 1980 he worked at the Houston Post, where he covered the police beat and criminal courts before becoming an editor.

Flynn gained the respect of those he covered, recalled Mike Hinton, a defense attorney and former Harris County prosecutor.

"I can't tell you how respected he was by the prosecutor's office and the defense bar and all the judges," Hinton said. "He was such a straight shooter. He made sure everything was correct, and he had tremendous sources."

Killed story

Former colleague Mary Flood recalled a court study that she and another reporter at the Post worked on for weeks, which cast a judge in an unfavorable light. When it appeared that editors had killed the story, Flynn, who was an assistant city editor at the time, sent it to two magazines.

The magazines began raising questions, and the Post ran the story, Flood said.

"I loved the man," she said. "He had humor and he was a newsman's newsman."

In 1980, he went to the San Diego Union-Tribune, where he spent 13 years before coming to the Houston Chronicle in 1993. Flynn's five years at the Chronicle included covering civil courts. From 1998 to 2005, he was a writer and editor at the Houston Press.

Flynn was known for his dedication to maintaining friendships.

Covered courts

Carol Vance, who served as Harris County District Attorney from 1966 to 1979, met Flynn when he covered courts for the Post in the 1970s and had stayed in touch with him since then.

"We loved to be around him because he had a great sense of humor, the driest sense of humor of anybody I've ever known," Vance said. "He was a good guy to hang out with and exchange stories with."

Bert Graham, former first assistant district attorney for Harris County, said Flynn was always interested in getting at the truth, even when it came to his golf score. At a recent informal golf tournament where Flynn took top honors, Flynn pointed out a scoring error that cost him the championship, Graham said.

From 2008 to 2010, Flynn was a spokesman for the Harris County District Attorney's Office and most recently was doing freelance writing, his wife said.

Flynn loved being a reporter and had fun at the job, she said.

"He had such a great sense of humor," she said. "He could tell a story."

In addition to his wife, Flynn is survived by two brothers, Tom Flynn of Tulsa, Okla., and Mike Flynn of Phoenix; a sister, Nancy Bamberger of San Diego; and two stepdaughters, Laura Gabriel and Julia Gabriel of Houston.